1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a low tire pressure alert system for alerting the operator of a vehicle of low pressure conditions of the vehicle's pneumatic tires. More particularly, the present invention concerns an alert system in which individual transmitters are coupled with the valve stems of respective tires for transmitting wireless signals in response to respective low pressure conditions, and in which a receiver located within the vehicle passenger compartment receives the signals and actuates respective indicators corresponding to the vehicle tires.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art discloses a variety of air pressure alert systems for alerting the operator of a vehicle, such as an over-the-road semi-trailer and tractor, to the existence of low tire pressure conditions. More particularly, the prior art discloses systems which use wireless signal transmitters coupled with vehicle tires for sensing and responding to low tire pressure conditions for sending wireless transmit signals to a receiver located within the vehicle's passenger compartment for alerting occupants thereof to the existence of the low pressure conditions.
The prior art devices, however, present a number of problems. For example, they tend to be electronically complex resulting in manufacturing costs too high to allow economical usage. Additionally, these prior art systems either do not identify which tire has low pressure, or identify the tire by code number or the like which makes identification of the low pressure tire cumbersome.